The Daughter Of a Killer
by Rozuki
Summary: No one new the real reason why the clan was slaughtered. One was kidnapped, and never seen again. Itachi kept this a secret from the world until now. He killed for love, and lived for his offspring.
1. Chapter I

_Chapter 1;_

_Disclaimer: I own the daughter. I also own the reason why Itachi kills his clan. If you want to use it in your story just let me know about it so I don't freak out and get mad at you.  
_

No one actually knew why Itachi had slaughtered the Uchiha clan. No one ever found out the true reason. I wasn't because of the revenge, nor was it for the measurement of power. Of course he always figured those were bonuses. The real reason was dead along with them. She had gotten to live longer than the rest of the clan.

The real reason was because his love was rejected.

The woman who he had fallen in love with humiliated him and rejected him. He sulked for awhile, and then started placing blame on everything. Consequently he had triggered that place in your mind that takes over and goes on a killing spree. He had only stopped himself from killing those who had infected him. He left his brother, his dear little brother. He would never find out how much Itachi really cared for him. He had left the boy right after he watched his older brother effortlessly slaughter his parents.

Itachi had grabbed his love and ran. No one saw them for awhile after that.

After Itachi emerged from hiding the girl was no where to be seen. It's safe to say that she's dead. She had been the only female Uchiha left, until she bore a child. A beautiful daughter, the child of Itachi and his nameless love, which had seemed to have changed her mind about Itachi. Itachi kept the small girl a complete secret. Only a few knew about her, and that's what he wanted. Of course, he was very young when he obtained the child.

He had somehow wanted it that way. So he could train her while he was still at his best.

He had tried the best he could to be a father to her, and most times he succeeded. Of course he asked the few trusted female ninjas to help out occasionally. There were some things he just couldn't help with.

It was silent. It was dark. It was rainy. It was her favorite part of the night. She was curled up in the covers of her bed, staring out the window. The patterns the rain made on the glass kept her awake. She could watch them for hours.

She pulled the covers closer around her body and shivered. It was indeed one of the coldest nights she had ever lived through. She was wearing layers of clothing, along with the covers, but it just didn't seem to be enough. She sighed and turned over.

She took up staring at her father instead of the window. She had always loved her father blindly. She looked up to him, he was simply her hero. No one could beat him, no one insulted him, and no one dared touch him. She smiled. He had always released his soft side towards her, only when no one was watching. She never asked why, it was just one of those many silent agreements they had. Ones they never had to talk about, they just knew. She shivered again. It felt like the temperature was dropping, it probably was.

She quietly crawled out of bed and wrapped the blanket around her. She tiptoed towards her father's bed. She knew he could hear her. She tried her best anyway.

"Any enemy would be able to tell you're coming."

His clear voice broke through the silence. She smiled. She knew he wasn't really insulting her. He just didn't know how to really hold conversation.

She kneeled down on the side of the bed he was facing. She smiled. He sighed and lifted up his blanket. She crawled in his bed, and took her blanket and put it on top of both of them. She snuggled into his chest and sighed. She held the utmost respect for her father.

He was her world.

She was now 15. She was turning out to be a very skilled ninja. Itachi figured she would outrank him one day. She was already above where he was when he was 15. He watched her. She was just sitting underneath a tree, reading. He figured if anyone happened to walk by she wouldn't even look like a ninja. But, of course, no one would walk by, and only a few people had ever seen her.

Her ear twitched. She smiled. Her father had returned from wherever he was sent. He never told her where, but that was okay with her. She could always find him. She stopped reading, but continued to look at the pages of her book. She had actually been enjoying it. Every time her father could, he got her a new book. Since she didn't get much human interaction, so she loved reading and learning about the world.

"Father, I do hope you are well." She said, finally looking up from her book into the tree he was currently residing in.

"I suppose." was his curt reply. He was always like that. It's one of the things she loved him for.

"Hn." She stood slowly. She dusted off the red kimono she was wearing and placed a newly fallen leaf in the book.

She walked over and leaned against the tree her father was in.

"I do hope you haven't gone off and gotten badly injured."

"Hn."

She let the smile fade slightly. Usually he answered with dropping down from the tree to show he was fine, or a verbal, "I'm fine." She turned around and stared up to where she knew he was.

"Please, come down, father. Let me help." She frowned when he didn't come down right away.

He jumped down slowly. His feet hit the ground and he winced. His clothes were bloody, his hat was missing, and his eyes were bloodshot. She gasped slightly.

"What happened?" She asked helping him sit down on the soft meadow grass. He practically collapsed when she wrapped her arms around him, ignoring the blood that was smearing on her clothes. She couldn't imagine whose blood it was.

He sighed and finally gave into that intense stare. "We were ambushed. No one was expecting it." He smirked, "Of course we killed them. They were a hard lot."

She rolled up his sleeves and reached into one of the many pockets sewn into her kimono. She pulled out some basic first aid supplies. He eyed them suspiciously. For once, he was glad she was always prepared for anything.

He leaned his back against the tree while she started to clean him up. They sat in silence. The silence was a comforting one for Itachi, after having come from a bloody battle. He could always count on her to make him feel like he had purpose to his life. He figured that if she wasn't around his life would be one big killing spree.

She cringed at some of the deeper wounds. The ones who ambushed her father must have been good. He never came home with this many wounds. She rolled his sleeves back down after she had done as much as she could.

"We should return home, father." She looked at him with worried eyes. He needed rest, so did she. The sun was starting to set and it would be dangerous to be out in the dark while her father was wounded.

"I suppose."

He draped an arm over her shoulders, slightly for the support, and just because he was her father.

She smiled at the gesture. He didn't do many fatherly things often anymore. She picked up her book, and steadily led him home, at least their makeshift house.

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Um, thanks for reading…and stuff. I always like to know what you guys think about the stuff I write, even if you just tell me you hate it. So, please let me know what you thought and, uh, that's it. Hopefully I'll actually finish a story this time. I apologize in advance if I start slacking off. If I do, please start yelling at me so I'll continue it.


	2. Chapter II

_Chapter 2;_

It was basically a hollowed out tree, with furniture placed into it. It had a few rooms, all on top of each other. His was at the top, hers underneath, then the 'multi-purpose' room. She spotted it out from all the identical ones surrounding it.

They had carved it themselves, making the perfect hide-away. They had stayed in this house for the longest time. They had to move around every once in a while so that her father would be safe.

She wrapped her arm around his waist and jumped. She landed on a small branch that had a hole where it met the tree trunk. She slowly brought her father towards it, unsure of whether or not his balance was reliable. She crouched down and slid into the tree after she made sure he was safely inside.

He sighed, was his daughter surpassing him already? He smirked of course not. He was continually learning new moves. He definitely had more experience, too. She only fought him, and the trees. He slowly sunk down onto his bed. He needed rest if he was going to be able to take his daughter out tomorrow.

She watched her father slink down into bed. She quickly made some warm tea, adding in various plant leaves and flower petals. She had read that they helped wounds heal. She hoped so.

He opened his eyes when she approached. She knelt down next to his bed and smiled. He took the tea and sipped at it. It wasn't nearly as foul tasting as the last time her had drunken her tea. He smiled slightly at her. She beamed.

She remained by his side, he got the hint. He usually told her no, but they would be leaving tomorrow anyway. He smirked and nodded his head. She seemed like a child just given candy. She crawled into bed next to him and pulled the blanket around them both.

The sun broke through the small slits they had placed in the trunk to serve as light source and look-outs. She was already up making breakfast when he slowly sat up, his wounds hardly bothering him. He mentally praised her. She was getting better at healing, too.

She noticed her father getting up and quickly brought over some breakfast. She had already eaten. She finished packing things while he ate. She was sad to go. This was one of her favorite places. She sighed as she tied a rope around a backpack to hold it shut.

They had talked a few nights ago and he told her he needed to go back to headquarters soon. So they settled for a day, that day. She wondered if her father could travel, but even if he couldn't he wouldn't admit it.

She smiled at him when he finished and picked up a backpack and a duffle bag. The duffle bag was almost double the size of the backpack, and held all her books. Her father picked up the other backpack and slung it onto his back. He slid out the exit, followed by his daughter. As they fled, he threw a kunai with an exploding note attached to it. It sunk into the wood, and then the tree exploded. She sighed sadly; she was going to miss that home.

He glanced at her; he knew she liked that place. It had to be done. They couldn't leave any traces behind. They couldn't be found. He gripped the strap of his pack harder, if they found out about her, they might take her away from him. He wouldn't let that thought even surface. He really would be lost without her. She was the only one he would actually sacrifice his life for, if there ever came a time, or a need to.

He shook his head; there would never be a chance to. He smirked slightly; they could take care of themselves.

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Yay! Another chapter! Uh, I don't really have anything to say this time. xD Well, have fun reading and stuff. Oh I'm sorry for the short chapter. It's just the next sort of 'ending place' wasn't for a lot later and I thought it would have been too long.


	3. Chapter III

_Chapter 3;_

She heard it. She stopped abruptly on one of the branches. Her father stopped right next to her and pulled out a kunai. She pulled out a few senbon needles. There it was again. It was a bird call. She smirked that species of birds didn't come out this season. She met her father's eyes and nodded.

There was a flurry of weapons being thrown. Bodies fell to the floor. Most having senbon protruding from their corpses. The fight went on silently, a fight between the prey and the hunters.

Itachi held in his pain. He wasn't fully healed from the other day. He worried for his daughter, but he knew he had trained her well. He stabbed one ANBU through the chest with his kunai and pulled it out. He swung his arm around and went to stab the next, but he stopped as a sharp pain came from his chest. He cursed and fell to the floor on a knee. He wasn't in any condition to fight.

She saw him drop. She immediately leapt off the branch she was fighting on, sending a senbon to kill the member she had been dueling with. She had minor scratches, and seemed to be taking down her opponents. She dropped right in front of her father and whipped out all the weapons she could fit in her hands. She closed her eyes and opened them again. Her eyes glowed an eerie crimson as she began throwing the weapons in all directions. She hoped the members wouldn't come nearer to them.

She dropped down and grabbed her father's body before jumping into a clump of trees.

"I'm sorry, father." She said quietly as they sailed through the trees. "I wasn't strong enough to protect you from getting hurt."

He cringed. He must have opened up all his old wounds. He cursed himself for being so weak.

"Hn." It sounded more like a grunt of pain than a reply.

She could feel the tears coming on. She needed to be strong and protect him. She felt something collide with her shoulder. A kunai. She grabbed it with her free hand and pulled it out. She winced. It had gotten in pretty deep.

The ANBU seemed to have found her trail again. She jumped from branch to branch searching for a way to defeat them. She found a small cavern-like hole and immediately jumped down into it.

"I'm sorry, father, but I must leave you here so I may fight." She said it quickly and quietly. He didn't reply. She growled and pulled out a katana. Of course she was skilled with almost every weapon, but she preferred swords. It was one of those weird fetishes.

She jumped out of the cavern and was met with too many ANBU to count. She held her sword at a ready position.

"Who are you?" One of the members asked abruptly.

She closed her eyes and smiled.

One of the other members stepped forward. "Just tell us who you are little girl." She took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and scanned herself for any wounds. Her red kimono was stained with blood in places, but she could pick out the almost invisible Uchiha fan. It was placed on her shoulder. She brought up the image of the other, one that couldn't be removed. It was tattooed into her skin, above her breasts, but below her collar bone. It was dead center, and if she wasn't covering it up almost unmistakable. She had tattooed it onto herself using various objects from where they had been staying. Her father never really found out.

"I don't suppose I could just suggest that you leave us be?" She asked, her voice was calm and sweet. She looked up at them, fully prepared to risk her life for her father.

One of them cursed and suggested that she drop dead. She smiled at that.

"I'm sorry to ask, but can you come toward me. I'm terribly afraid of leaving him." She didn't refer to him as 'father' unless they were alone; it was for both their safeties.

The one who had suggested that she 'drop dead' acted without consent of his leader and charged forward. She let her smile grow until it looked almost homicidal.

He reached for her; she dodged it swiftly, and swung the sword around her back. It landed square in his chest.

"Should have waited for orders." She said cruelly. She pulled the sword out and the body fell to the ground.

Before she could turn around again she was surrounded. She quickly took out those nearest to her and had a sadistic smile plastered on her face.

She stopped. She had strayed just far enough away from her father that one had grabbed him. She full out screamed in rage. Her father was unconscious. Her untouchable, flawless father was unconscious. She lost all manners she had ever gained and charged at every moving thing. She stopped in front of the member holding her father. She sliced the ANBU's head right off. It rolled on the ground before landing in a small stream with a slight 'plop'. She grabbed her father before the corpse fell to the ground.

She slowly set her father down on the grass, having successfully killed the ANBU. She tore off the mask he had been wearing and threw her arms around his body. She prayed for the first time in her life. She prayed that her father was just joking. It was just a test.

She cried out. She couldn't take it if her father died. He was her world.

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Um. Yeah. I don't really like his dying scene so I'll probably go back and re write it soon. Yep.

Thanks for reviewing! Itachi-san と streetboarder ur ass!


	4. Chapter IV

_Chapter 4;_

It didn't take long for her world to crash down on top of her, crushing her with its cruelty.

There was back-up there. Apparently she hadn't killed all the members. She howled in rage and whipped around, only to be found that she couldn't move. She was stuck grasping on to his body. She cried harder.

She watched hopelessly as they threw poison darts into his throat. She lost it. The binding technique they had used was cancelled out. Her eyes flashed a bright crimson before she took off slaughtering all the moving things in her line of vision. She felt them try to fight back, but it was no use she had lost her world.

She dropped down next to his body and held him. They never got to say goodbye, they never got to go out shopping, they never even got to exchange 'I love you' s.

She cried until she couldn't feel the pain anymore.

"I love you, papa." She whispered before she let the ANBU members grab hold of her. She watched helplessly as they put his body in a sack. She couldn't see any longer. Her tears had completely taken over. The ANBU didn't bother whacking her unconscious. They left her wallowing in her misery.

"She really cryin' tha much 'bout Itachi?" She heard someone mutter.

She growled. She saw the member holding her flinch. She was no longer crying, but her eyes still poured out tears. She had lost her father, and her world was choking her with not even letting them have a proper goodbye. She clenched her fists, which her being held behind her back.

"I wonder who she really is."

She lashed out and bit the member in the arm. Her eyes glowed; she had taken a chunk right out of his arm. She could feel the sticky blood falling down her chin. She spit the chunk of flesh out onto the ground. She could hear that member howl in pain. She didn't want to think how painful it would be to have a chunk of flesh ripped from your arm.

The member holding her turned into three or four. She made no other indication that she was going to move. They picked her up and carried her the rest of the way there. They had, of course, covered her mouth with spare bandages.

She had closed her eyes and shut out everything. She didn't care if she was dead. He was gone. Gone. It echoed in her head.

He was never going to come back.

She let the tears come again. The ANBU shrugged. She had been crying nonstop since they had killed Itachi. They wondered just what sort of relationship they had had.

She felt the sunlight creep up onto her face. She felt the arms still around her. She sighed and opened her eyes. Her spirit had died. Her eyes were dull, the same black eyes that had lit up when her father came home. She didn't feel tears. She figured that she didn't feel anymore.

She wondered briefly of where they were taking her. She didn't have to ask. The village came into view. She had never been there, but had definitely heard about it from her father.

She was going back to where the Uchihas had started. She oddly felt nothing. She was just curious. Some of the ANBU jumped off right when they entered the gate of the village. She supposed they went off the patrol from the roofs. She sighed, her theory had been correct. She saw them darting around. She scoffed, weren't ANBU supposed to be able to conceal themselves? Or maybe they wanted her to know they were watching.

She was suddenly set on her feet. She took to walking, two ANBU holding on to her arms. There was one in front of her, and one had his hands on her shoulders. She hung her head.

The stares she was receiving weren't welcoming at all. Most were hostile. She didn't blame them. She was being escorted by four ANBU members. She saw men start to whisper, and women hide their children.

Like she could do anything anyway.

They stopped outside a big building. She figured it was a prison or something. She was surprised when they lead her into an office. She looked down at the ground, she didn't have the will to look up anymore.

"Well, what's going on here?"

"Hokage-sama, she was found with Itac-" He was cut off by a soft sobbing.

The hokage looked over the girl. She didn't look like she was a ninja at all. She looked like she was just a battered up noble woman.

"With Itachi?" He questioned.

Hearing his name reminded her that she would never see him again. She felt like ransacking this whole place. She looked up and quickly calculated all the escapes, and possible weapons. She noticed the guards tightening their hold on her.

"Sir, I think it's wise if we don't say his name in her presence."

"Well why not?" The hokage asked confused.

He slowly peeled off the bandage he was holding to his arm. "Last time I said it she took a chunk right out of my arm." He winced as he applied the bandage again.

She glared at everything. Her sadness started to mold into anger. Anger at everything.

"Right. Okay, I suggest you go the hospital for that." The hokage said nervously. She basically ripped a chunk of his arm off? He looked over at the girl. She looked like she wanted to kill the floor.

"So, child, who are you?" He asked as sweetly as he could.

She just shook her head.

"Why were you with Itach- I mean that man?" He tried again.

She didn't indicate that she was going to move anytime soon. He sighed.

"How old are you?" He tried the common personal questions.

She smiled sadly. "15."

He took a step back. Was she crazy? Had he heard right? 15! He was astonished, from what he heard she had killed over 15 of his ANBU members. He watched her stare into oblivion.

"Right, um, what's your name?"

Her world was gone and now it wrapped it's cruel hands around her pale neck, choking her. The words wouldn't come. They couldn't get out. She opened her mouth, and then closed it. She shook her head.

The hokage sighed. He would have to question her later. He had the impression that she wouldn't be talking anytime soon, though. He dismissed the guards with her. She would be spending some time in a locked room for awhile.

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Yeah, another chapter. Thanks for reading guys! ;

And thanks for reviewing! I really appreciate it.

Itachi-san と streeboarder ur ass と mitsuhime と Sahringanmistress と GreatMarta


	5. Chapter V

_Chapter 5;_

_**-Edit;;**_ _Thank you so much GreatMarta for pointing out my age mistake. I've never liked math. Anyway, I went through and changed Sasuke's age so it would make sense. Again, thank you for pointing that out!**-**_

Multiple days had passed since she had seen anyone other than interrogators and guards. None got any words from her. She lost them, they were locked up inside and wouldn't come out. She tried, she really did, but it was useless.

She spent most of her days crying. Finally one day the hokage had wandered in.

"Hello Akai." They had given her a name; they hated not calling her anything. She didn't object to it either.

She nodded to him, and then bowed slightly. She set the book she had been reading down on the small table in the room.

"I've decided that locking you up in this room isn't doing anyone any good." He sighed. "I've decided to put you in someone's care. You will live with them, and are not to leave their side, is that understood."

She nodded and bowed again. A small smile crept up on her lips. She had wanted to go exploring. The smile died almost immediately after. It pained her to smile.

"Alright then, let's go meet him." The hokage said holding the door open.

She walked slowly over to the door and stepped out into the hall. It was early morning, or so. She was glad they had cleaned up her original kimono and let her wear it. Her wounds from the battle were healed, but the mental damage would never go away.

She walked behind the hokage. She had taken a small liking to him. He was the only one that was kind to her. Some of the interrogators had gone as far as trying to beat her, but the hokage had stopped them.

She hid slightly behind him as a man with grey hair appeared at the end of the hallway. He had been reading a book, but she couldn't tell which from her distance away.

"Hello, Kakashi." The hokage said smiling. "This is Akai." He said stepping to the side so she could be seen.

Her dull black eyes met his and she bowed her head slightly. He smiled. "She's cute." He said abruptly. Akai's face faltered, and the hokage sighed.

"She looks awfully familiar. Dark hair, pale skin, black eyes…" he trailed off and the hokage shook his head.

She perked up her ears. She knew what he was saying, the traits of an Uchiha. She looked down at the ground.

"Eh, nevermind." He said before stepping forward and kneeling before her. "I'd be honored to have you follow me around 24/7." The hokage shook his head again and left.

"Shall we go, then?" He stood and held out his hand. She took it, hesitantly.

They were surrounded by a whirlwind of leaves as she felt herself being pulled from one place to another.

They appeared in a field. She scanned the surroundings and was surprised to see that it was a training area. There were a few ninja scattered around, but there was three sitting underneath a big tree. She looked up to Kakashi. He smiled and began walking towards the three.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I was picking up the cute girl that will be following me around 24/7 for awhile." Kakashi said as they approached. Akai hid behind him.

"Yeah right, Kakashi-sensei. Your excuses get lamer every time." A blonde boy answered.

The other two looked equally angry at him. He sighed and stepped to the side.

"But this time I was serious." He said pointing a finger at Akai.

They just stared at her. She looked down at the ground. The girl stood up and walked over to her.

"Hi. I'm Haruno Sakura." She said cheerily, turning her away from the group slightly.

Akai just bowed slightly.

"I'm Naruto!" The blonde boy interrupted loudly. Sakura shoved him out of the way.

Akai turned to the last boy. She knew who he was almost immediately. He was her uncle. Her last relative. Her tears built up again. He looked so much like her father.

"Way to go Sasuke, you haven't even opened your mouth and she's already crying." Naruto said pointing accusingly at Sasuke.

He shrugged, but stared at the girl with interest. She looked familiar.

Sakura gave Akai a side hug and asked what was wrong.

Akai shoved her off. She ran up to Sasuke and looked up into his eyes. She quickly did the math. He would be around twenty-something now. She shook her head to get rid of the tears. It worked partially. She suddenly hugged him.

Sasuke just stood there dumbfounded. She was hugging him. No one ever hugged him. He sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Uncle Sasuke…" It was so feint, but so clear.

Kakashi sighed, he had had his hunch. She looked too familiar to not be an Uchiha.

Sakura stared at Sasuke and the girl. _Uncle…?_

Naruto broke the silence. "But Sasuke is the only one in his family, isn't he?"

Akai released Sasuke and wiped her tears from her face. She smiled slightly up at him. He tensed.

If he was her uncle that only meant one thing.

"Where the hell is Itachi?" He asked, as he grabbed the collar of her kimono. She let him.

She just looked down at the ground. He shook her slightly. His eyes bored into her head.

"Tell me where he is." He said deathly calm.

Kakashi pulled Akai out of Sasuke's grip before he started to hit her.

"Itachi is dead, Sasuke. ANBU tracked him down and finally killed him a few weeks ago." He sighed, "And when they killed him they found her crying, holding his body."

Akai looked up at Sasuke. She knew he hated Itachi, but this was more than just rage.

He looked like he was going to murder Kakashi. How dare anyone kill his brother. He wanted to be the one to kill him. And he had a kid? Sasuke couldn't help it. He charged at Kakashi. Kakashi dropped Akai and got into a fighting position. He knew Sasuke would over react.

Sasuke targeted his kick straight to the side of Kakashi's head. It hit. He looked over to find that he hadn't hit Kakashi at all. Akai was standing there holding his foot in her hand.

Naruto squeaked a bit. Sakura just gaped silently. Akai had blocked one of Sasuke's super-fast kicks?

Akai let go of Sasuke's foot. He lowered it to the ground and continued to stare at her. She turned to Kakashi and smiled slightly.

"Fight me."

She turned back around to find Sasuke in a fighting stance. Kakashi sighed.

"No." She replied. The words were slowly appearing.

"Yes, fight me."

"I won't fight you, Uncle Sasuke."

He flinched and charged for her. Kakashi couldn't stop him. Akai dodged his punch, grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back and pushed him forward onto the ground.

Sasuke lay there for a second before getting up.

"I won't fight you, Uncle Sasuke." She repeated.

Kakashi sighed. This girl was one big mystery, wasn't she?

"Lets go home Akai." He said before jumping off. She took off after him, leaving the three behind.

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Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	6. Chapter VI

_Chapter 6;_

Kakashi was slightly surprised at her ability to keep up with him on the way home. He purposely had gone faster, to test her, but it seemed that she didn't notice. He shook his head. Maybe what the hokage had told him was true. She really did kill off a bunch of ANBU. He knew he needed to clear up the 'Uncle Sasuke' part with the hokage. He would definitely want to know about that.

"So, this is it." He said turning on the light to his small, but homey house. He threw off his vest and it landed on the couch.

He motioned towards one of the doors. "That's your new room."

He watched her walk over to it and smiled. He felt kind of like he was taking in an orphan. He sighed; he was taking in an orphan. He shook his head and headed into the kitchen after she had gone into her room.

Akai looked around the room. It wasn't much, and obviously hadn't been lived in for awhile. She smiled. Kakashi had tried to make it slightly more girly than it had been. There were a few stuffed animals on the bed. She ran over and picked one up. She had never had a stuffed animal before. She hugged it. She lied down on the bed and went to stroking the bear's fake fur.

Just when she thought the searing pain would lessen, it came back full force. She went to rubbing her face into the pillow, to try and muffle her tears. She didn't know, nor did she care, how long she had laid there thinking back to the times she shared with her father. She knew about the clan. She knew what he did. She didn't think it was necessarily right, but it wasn't something they needed to go hunt him down and murder him for.

Akai woke up and groggily looked around at her surroundings. She started to panic, she didn't remember where she was, or even falling asleep last night. She shot up into a sitting position and the teddy bear fell to the floor.

It was coming back to her. She had felt like she had been back in time. She had almost believed she was back with her father. She picked up the bear and placed it on the pillow. She noticed a blanket was draped around her. She wondered if Kakashi had put it there.

She just shook her head and left the room.

Kakashi had already made breakfast, wanting to not look so incredibly..., well, like Kakashi. He smiled when she walked into the room; he noticed she was still wearing what she had fallen asleep in. He smirked slightly. He was, too.

She silently sat down across from Kakashi and slowly began to eat. She just stared down at her plate, wondering.

Kakashi sighed. Still no words from the girl.

"I guess I'm supposed to take you around on some of my missions today." He said awkwardly. He felt like he was talking to a wall.

She looked up at him, nodded, then looked back down at her food. Kakashi sighed again. Hopefully he wouldn't have too many hard missions today. He wondered why they put her in his care. He mentally slapped himself. He was one of the only ones with the Sharingan. And Sasuke would try to kill her if he was watching her, as he had wanted to do the other day.

Akai took to staring at Kakashi. She could tell he had the Sharingan. She knew it wasn't a very strong one. She leaned across the table and placed her hand over his eye. She felt him flinch slightly under her touch. She smiled slightly and pointed to her own eye.

Kakashi understood somewhat. _We're the same._

Kakashi leaned across the small table and hugged her. _Yes, and I don't plan on leaving you._

He saw a few small tears slip from her eyes. They never made it past her nose.

"Does Uncle Sasuke not find me satisfactory?" She asked out of the silence.

Kakashi stiffened. Did this girl think it was right to go and slaughter a whole clan?

"Papa implied that Uncle Sasuke was a brilliant young boy. I believe papa really did love Uncle Sasuke." She didn't exactly know where the sudden words were coming from, but she wanted to know. She had a right to know.

"Well, ask him later. We need to leave." Kakashi said standing up and clearing the dishes.

Akai grabbed some of the dishes out of Kakashi's hands. "Please, let me do them. It's the only other thing I know how to do besides fight."

Kakashi let her. He was baffled by the girl. He went off and started packing for a mission.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing! I wish I ha dsomething witty and funny to say here, but sadly I don't. xD


	7. Chapter VII

_Chapter 7;_

It was odd that he go on a mission with anyone. And for him to get special clearance for Akai to come along was something indeed. He wondered what the Hokage was thinking about these days.

Kakashi sighed. There wasn't any use just sitting around wondering about it. He would have to face all of it soon enough. He swung his pack over his shoulder and looked out in the direction he knew the gates were in. He hadn't really seen how much his three students had improved in a while. He was curious as to what new things they were learning out on their missions. He smirked, thinking back on their days where he had trained them. He hadn't taken on another group after them. He was happy with his decision. If he had taken on another group he wouldn't have had The Itachi's unknown daughter staying with him. He was also curious as to her abilities.

He flinched when her voice broke his thoughts.

"Excuse me."

Kakashi sighed he hadn't even been paying attention. She had been standing behind him, waiting for him to go out of house. He sighed and moved from the doorway. Akai fell into step next to him.

He glanced over to her constantly. Was she okay?

He didn't know what kind of life she must have had, living with a murder as a father.

As they walked through the village it was obvious that rumors and stories had built up about the girl next to him. He was relieved; most of the stares were curious and not hostile. That also meant none of them knew the truth, though. The Hokage must have been his usual self and tried to prevent her from being hated blindly.

Just as they reached the gate Kakashi heard someone yell for him.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

He turned to the left and he was met with three chunin that he had helped train, on request of their jounin leader.

Akai wasn't surprised that people wanted to get Kakashi's attention, to her, it seemed he got along with people well. But, she on the other hand had no intention of being so friendly with strangers.

"Well hello Alphie, Ryle, Touya." Kakashi said waving, noticing Akai duck behind him. He sighed; of course she wouldn't be friendly. It was part of his mission to watch her to try and get her to open up a bit, though.

Touya nodded in response to Kakashi's greeting, and then stared at the girl who had clearly hidden behind the man. Who was she? He had never seen her before, and the village didn't really get that many new comers. He glanced to his other team mates to see if they had noticed her, but they didn't seem to be paying much attention to her. He decided to not ask about who she was.

Akai peeked out from behind Kakashi as he walked over to the three. The girl, who she figured was Alphie, was clearly somewhat of a tomboy. Akai wondered how the girl could be comfortable, she had dirt smudged on her in multiple places, and was wearing simple, shapeless clothes. Akai decided that when being a ninja, femininity wasn't really focused on that much.

The two boys on the other hand, seemed to care a bit more about appearances. Both seemed to be put together well. Both were quite handsome, she admitted, but she really hadn't met that many men to be able to come up with a good scale. Though, they seemed to stay a certain distance from each other. She had read many books, and heard from her father that ninja were often paired with ones that they strived to out-shine. She wondered if the two were rivals.

"Kakashi, we received orders from the Hokage that we're supposed to accompany you on this mission." Ryle said, holding out a scroll to Kakashi.

"Accompany me?" Kakashi wondered what the Hokage was thinking. This mission wasn't supposed to be that difficult, for Akai's sake, why was he sending a team of chunin along with him?

He took the scroll and opened it for a brief moment, confirming what Ryle had said.

It was true. "Well, this was certainly last minute." Kakashi said slipping the scroll into a hidden pocket.

"Accompany us?"

All three of the chunins looked shocked as Akai stepped from behind Kakashi.

Kakashi nearly jumped himself at the sound of her voice. He hadn't expected her to speak. "Ah, it seems so, Akai." He said, trying to lighten the mood a bit with a care-free laugh. He turned to the three and pushed Akai a bit forward. "This is Akai, She's been ordered to follow me around for a while."

Akai suddenly realized she was now the center of attention and was sorry she had spoken. She turned to the three and bowed gracefully before trying to take a few steps back to try and get the attention off of her.

However, Kakashi kept a hand on her back that prevented her from moving.

"Isn't she cute?"

Alphie laughed started to laugh, "Ordered to follow you around? Geeze, what'd you do, Kakashi?"

Ryle was a bit taken aback. He hadn't really paid attention to the girl until she stepped from behind Kakashi. He was surprised she was so…well, pretty. He considered himself lucky, having been assigned this mission. He had no idea that Kakashi would have a girl following him around.

"Hey, I'm Ryle." He said, introducing himself.

"I'm Alphie." Alphie said, cutting in.

After a small pause of silence Ryle added, "And that's Touya. He isn't smart enough to form words."

Akai's eyes grew wide, He wasn't smart enough to form words? How was he a ninja?

"Screw you, Ryle." Touya said turning toward him and unfolding his arms.

"Oh, c'mon, Touya. You could at least introduce yourself." Alphie said turning to face both of them.

Akai sighed. She hadn't been raised around jokes. She froze.

Memories poured into her mind, images of her father, of her childhood, and then the fatal picture of her father's bloody body being shoved into a bag, like it was nothing.

She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to be around such happy people. She didn't want to be around people that came from the place that killed her father. From that place that ended her world.

She wanted nothing more than to leave. She wanted to see her uncle. She wanted to see the only family she had left, even if he hated her for it.

"Where's Sasuke?" She said trying to stop tears from leaving her eyes.

Kakashi stopped smiling. Sasuke?

"What's wrong Akai?" He said, leaning over so he was closer to her height. He worried. What if she had a break-down? He knew she could snap at any time and probably kill many people before they could get control of her again.

Touya stared at her, why would she want to see Sasuke? Touya had never personally had a conversation with him, but everyone knew who he was. The memory of the Uchiha clan was still being passed around.

"Where is he?" Akai asked again, this time with an edge of anger on her voice. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to be with Sasuke.

"Akai, I don't think we have time to see him before we leave." Kakashi was trying to softly let her know that he had no intention of telling her. He knew it was not a good idea to see him.

Ryle stared. She wants to see Sasuke. He suddenly noticed the similarity between the two. Who was this girl? She had the characteristics of an Uchiha, and she wants Sasuke? Plus, Ryle certainly hadn't seen her before that day. He glanced around his companions and they both seemed to have confusion in their eyes.

"I'm leaving."

Akai jumped up suddenly. She left her backpack behind and landed on the nearest rooftop.

"Akai!" Kakashi said, dropping his own backpack and jumping after her.

The three chunins looked to each other before Alphie jumped after them, Ryle and Touya following.

Kakashi cursed, She was much faster than he had thought. He was having trouble keeping her in his sight. He could tell she was heading for the training field that he had first introduced her to Sasuke.

Akai skidded to a halt on the branch of a tree on the edge of the field. She smiled when she spotted Sasuke fighting the blonde man she had seen him with earlier.

Kakashi yelled her name right before he saw her launch off her branch toward Sasuke.

Ryle, Touya, and Alphie landed in the field just in time for Sasuke to turn and be tackeled by Akai.

Naruto froze when he watched Sasuke get knocked down, and instinctively readied himself for a fight, until he saw what had tackled him.

Akai was lying on top of Sasuke, her arms clenched around his neck and her face buried in his chest, crying.

Kakashi landed next to them, and sighed. She really was a fragile girl. He didn't think she would run to Sasuke for comfort, though, seeing how he treated her the last time.

Sasuke opened his eyes and immediately grabbed Akai by the back collar of her kimono. He hesitated a moment, noticing her tears, before wrenching her off of him and throwing her a few feet away. She didn't seem to resist.

Kakashi watched as Akai gave no sign of trying to help herself land. She slammed into the ground and lay there for a few moments.

Ryle, Alphie, and Touya were certainly surprised as they watched Sasuke literally throw the girl away from him. It was hard to believe. They knew he didn't have that friendly of a personality, but this was a bit too much. She was just a crying girl.

Akai sat there in the grass for a few moments before calming down slightly. Her tears stopped, but her longing for comfort was still just as strong. She stood up slowly and looked over to her only remaining family, only to see him disappear and re-appear before her.

Sasuke grabbed her throat, he didn't really care how the girl felt. He needed someone to take out his frustration about his brother's death, and to get some kind of revenge on him. Sasuke couldn't fathom Itachi loving anyone, but if Itachi hadn't killed his daughter, then she must have meant something to him. And he wanted to take everything from him.

By now the other few people who had been at the training field had stopped what they were doing and turned to watch.

Sakura ran towards Sasuke screaming, and Naruto wasn't far behind.

Akai stared into Sasuke's eyes with longing. She didn't care if he killed her. She would rather be killed by him than anyone else. "Go ahead." She whispered. "Go ahead and kill me!" she said, louder this time.

All Sasuke did was tighten his grip a bit. What was she saying? Had Itachi meant that much to her? Was she tricked into loving him? Sasuke was angry now that his brother had dared produced an Uchiha, after killing so many.

Akai reached out her hands and gently touched his face.

She was released when Sakura and Naruto each grabbed an arm of Sasuke's and Kakashi grabbed Akai.

"Sasuke! What were you thinking?" Sakura yelled.

"I have to kill her." Sasuke said. "I have to kill her in place of my brother."

Ryle, Alphie, and Touya were shocked. They stood a few steps away from the fight.

"Who is she?" Ryle muttered under his breath, but both his team mates heard it.

Kakashi set Akai on the ground, but kept an arm on her shoulder.

"You realize, with her, you finally aren't alone, don't you?" Kakashi said to Sasuke.

Sasuke glared at him, actually he hadn't really thought about that. He had only wanted to kill her for being related to his brother. He had been blinded by rage.

Kakashi could see the calculations in Sasuke's eyes, and sighed. Maybe he would give up on killing Akai.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Well, so…it's been a few years. Hehe. I hope this didn't seem too out of place. Can't really remember what I was doing when I was writing this, so I just kind of guessed. ;;


	8. Chapter VIII

_Chapter 8;_

Instead of instantly melting and accepting Akai as Kakashi had unrealistically hoped, Sasuke just shrugged Naruto and Sakura off and turned to walk away. There was a few moments of uncertain silence before Sakura finally looked down at Akai. She was just watching Sasuke walk away, her face back to that frozen misery.

"...Akai?" Kakashi called her name timidly, unsure of how she would react as usual.

Akai finally drew her eyes away from her uncle that she just wanted to be accepted by and dropped them to the ground. "Let's go." She choked the words out and pushed passed Naruto and Sakura on the way to the village gate.

Ryle, Alphie, and Touya watched as Akai walked passed them. Ryle almost immediately followed and fell into step a few paces behind her. Alphie just shook her head and motioned for Touya to get going before following along.

Kakashi sighed and looked to Naruto and Sakura, "You guys deal with Sasuke. I've got to go babysit some more kids."

His attempt at small humor lightened the atmosphere between the three for a few seconds before Kakashi hopped away to beat his companions to the gate.

Ryle slowly caught up to Akai and was hesitant to speak, but eventually squeaked out an, "Are you okay?"

Akai just glanced over at him with a questioning stare. "...Hn." She knew that she was being impolite. She just didn't exactly feel like being around people. She missed her days where she didn't have to interact with anyone except her father. Of course, during those times she had secretly wanted to go out and meet lots of new people, but now she knew why her father had wanted to be away from all of them.

He sighed, feeling dejected by her curt answer, but continued anyway. Except this time he decided to change the subject altogether, "You're pretty fast. What rank are you?" He had many other curious questions, but he knew some would definitely have to wait, and some he was just plain afraid to ask.

Touya and Alphie could hear Ryle's pathetic attempt at a conversation and decided to leave it be. The girl obviously didn't want to talk right now. They also knew that for some reason Ryle had taken a liking to her, otherwise he would have taken back to his haughty and arrogant attitude.

Alphie had been questioning why they had been assigned to this mission, and she realized after the previous events. The Hokage set it up so that they would be around Akai, obviously. The realization forced a sigh out of Alphie, but she figured they couldn't do anything about it since it was the Hokage's decision.

Akai didn't bother looking at him this time. She just took off, leaving them behind.

Ryle stopped walking for a moment, startled that she had just ran off like that. It was obvious that she was not okay. However, it was even more blatantly obvious she wanted nothing to do with interaction at this point. He sighed.

Alphie jumped a couple steps ahead of Touya and caught up to Ryle first. "She didn't want to talk, huh?"

"Nope. She wanted quite the opposite." Ryle said, looking off in the direction Akai had ran. He began to walk again, "I just hope she's not running away."

Alphie shrugged and fell into step with Ryle. "She was headed toward the gate, I'm taking that as a good sign." Before she could say anything else to try and cheer up the unnaturally serious Ryle, Touya sped past them. "Think he's worried about her?" Alphie teased, trying to crack some humor in this situation. Ryle smiled before taking off after him.

Once she had reached the gate Akai wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to do. It' not like she didn't know manners or social responsibility. She just wasn't used to using them. She knew she couldn't just run off from the village. They would eventually hunt her down. Besides, her father used to tell her wondrous stories of this old village. She wanted a chance to see the places he mentioned. That and as much as she hated to admit it, now that her father was gone she was utterly alone. All she needed was at least one person to know her – to be with her. She thought maybe meeting her father's beloved younger brother might shatter the binding loneliness, but she was wrong. He despised her. It just pulled the smothering chains tighter around her chest.

"There you are." Kakashi said, popping up from behind a bush. "I'm glad you decided not to run completely away."

Akai was a bit startled, she had been lost in her own thoughts and feelings. "Ah... yeah." she said lamely, still trying to keep herself composed enough.

"I don't know what I would have done if one of my little ducklings had run off into the dangerous outside world without me!" He chuckled to himself. Sometimes being overly dramatic and serious times was just the thing one needed.

Akai, still a bit shocked, took a few steps closer to Kakashi. She was a duckling? She was his duckling? The only way Akai knew how to live was by following one person blindly. She knew her father would always be first in her heart. Maybe, just maybe, she might be able to follow someone else until she found herself, though.

Would she be able to do this, though? Would she be able to follow another? Her father had been her entire world. Everything she knew she learned from or because of him. And while he didn't actually speak much or tell her any grand stories of his adventures, she just knew. There was so much unsaid, but understood between her and her father. That's the way he was. That's the way they were. Or had been.

Her throat tightened. She could feel where Sasuke had gripped it just minutes before. She brought her hand up and touched it gingerly. Was she just trying to latch onto Sasuke now? Had her delusions brought her to believe that somehow, in some way, he could be some sort of replacement for her father? Was she that desperate?

She let her hand fall. She was. She was certainly that desperate. How could she not be? The now familiar image of her dead father replayed itself in her mind. Watching the kunai sink into his flesh… His blood a bright red spurting, flowing, dripping.

She sighed. She forced the tears down, letting the numbness take over in its stead. She knew the flashbacks would be in her mind for the rest of her life.

She looked back the Kakashi. She certainly was a duckling. A severely lost and scared duckling. Suddenly she thought it was quite funny. Maybe it was just the thought of imagining her as a duckling. How would her father have thought about her? Certainly he would never have such humorous thoughts involving ducklings.

She felt like she needed something to latch onto. At least for now. Sasuke was clearly going to fight her, but she didn't want to give up on him just yet. But...maybe, just maybe she could do as the Hokage clearly planned and follow Kakashi. With his ability of Sharingan, her family's trait, maybe she could slip him into the category of family for now.

She gave Kakashi a small smile.

Kakashi was certainly surprised to see the small smile sprout from her lips. Especially with her making no attempt to hide it. It was almost if…if she was actually smiling at him, a smile meant just for him. He beamed right back at her.

Touya caught up with the two of them first, but closely followed by Alphie and Ryle. Who, much their surprise, found Akai and Kakashi sharing a sort of smiling understanding. Alphie couldn't help but smile along, knowing that Akai had clearly not been upset about what had just happened. Though, it made her wonder why. What else had this girl been through where being almost killed was something she could just get over in a matter of minutes. She glanced at Kakashi. Maybe he had done something. Kakashi was certainly a funny guy, but Alphie hadn't pegged Akai as someone who found much humor in sillyness.

Kakashi turned and placed his hands on his hips. "Alright. We're all gathered back up together, then. Just right back in the area we started. Good." He walked a bit to the left and found that the backpacks he and Akai had left earlier were still there, plopped on the ground. He grabbed his and replaced it on his back.

Akai was suddenly a bit embarrassed. Just dropping things and leaving them in disarray because she was emotional was not her liking. She scooped up her bag also, brushing a bit of dirt off of it before putting it on.

Touya spoke then, "Yes. So we're leaving for the mission then, right?" Clearly he was a bit frustrated with everything that had happened and his great lack of understanding of it.

"Yes, yes we are. Do you three have everything you need?" Kakashi replied, turning toward the gate and taking a few steps toward it.

"Yup. Ready and packed, Sensei." Alphie said as the rest of them started following him.

Akai waited for the other three to follow before she did. Looking over them her small smile returned. A simple image of ducklings following their mother popping into her mind.


End file.
